Supplier personnel changes in the hospitality industry have been happening thick and fast at the turn of the year, with many people switching roles in the food, beverage, equipment and technology sectors.

We round-up some of the latest appointments, departures and promotions to watch.

Bidfood appoints Martin Eshelby as first culinary director

Bidfood has promoted its longstanding food innovation manager, Martin Eshelby (pictured above), to the new role of culinary director. The appointment recognises Eshelby’s decade of work at Bidfood in driving the food and drink wholesaler’s menu innovation, chef-to-chef support and culinary solutions. As culinary director, he will work with manufacturing brands, lead new product innovation and support the development of Bidfood’s annual food and drink trends.

Journey welcomes new technology chief

Hospitality e-commerce platform Journey has appointed Andrew Metcalfe as group chief technology and product officer. Metcalfe will manage Performance Platform, the company’s revenue generation software for luxury hotels. Metcalfe joins from Access Hospitality, where he most recently served as chief technology officer and product and engineering director, arriving via the acquisition of Guestline by the Access Group. Prior to that, he held senior roles at VE Interactive and OpenTable, part of Booking Holdings. Metcalfe is also the owner of the newly developed Downham Hall, a Georgian boutique hotel in Essex.

Andrew Bewes to depart as Hallgarten & Novum MD

Hallgarten & Novum Wines’ managing director Andrew Bewes will be stepping down from his position on 31 March following a 16-year tenure. Under his leadership, the wine distributor navigated its acquisition by Coterie Holdings in 2023, with turnover projected to surpass £100m by the end of this year. Bewes will be taking time out of the industry before deciding on his next move. Bewes’ role will not be replaced, instead, the company will implement two management boards of delegates from the Hallgarten and Coterie senior teams to support the strategic direction and management of the business.

Mapal founder hands over CEO reins

AI-powered hospitality operations platform Mapal has appointed Christian Fleck (pictured) as chief executive. Jorge Lurueña, Mapal’s founder, will assume the role of chairman. Fleck brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience across global software, technology and information services. Most recently, he led the recruitment division at the Access Group, where he drove growth in digital recruitment solutions. Prior to that, he served as managing director for LexisNexis in the UK, Ireland and Pacific regions, leading the 1,500-person organisation and overseeing market expansion initiatives.

Turner Price promotes new commercial director

Turner Price has promoted Tom English to the role of commercial director following the departure of director Craig Andrews, who recently retired from the business after 21 years of service. English joined the Yorkshire-based wholesaler in 2014 and was promoted to the board in 2025. In his new role, he will lead the company’s buying and commercial strategy, while continuing to oversee marketing and digital operations.

Dennys Brands appoints Richard Ebbs as MD

Richard Ebbs has joined hospitality uniform supplier Dennys Brands as managing director. He departed Nisbets after the second of two stints at the catering equipment distributor, latterly as group head of product sales effectiveness, having rejoined the firm in 2021 as head of commercial development. His first period there saw him become head of product training in 2009, before moving into the head of Uropa brands role in 2013. Between 2013 and 2021 he was the commercial and marketing director of cooking equipment manufacturer Synergy Grill.

Welbilt expands UK team

Cooking equipment manufacturer Welbilt has created new positions in its UK sales team. Top, from left: Mark Owen is now development chef UK, providing culinary support to the key account and regional teams; Jake Hewison, national account executive, hotel accounts, has several years of chef experience combined with a sales background; and Chris John has joined as brand and development chef. Bottom, from left: taking on the role of regional sales manager – Midlands is Elliott Stewart, who joins the team with five years’ experience in servicing and maintenance with MCFT; Danny Vickery has been promoted to UK service manager; and Thomas Landless has taken on the role of key account manager – retail and forecourt, from Coca-Cola HBC.

Quorn makes foodservice director switch

Quorn Foods’ director of global foodservice Phil Thornborrow (left) has moved into the role of president – US. Replacing him in his former position is Damian McLoughlin (right), who joins QuornPro with more than 30 years of commercial and leadership experience across the fast-moving consumer goods, foodservice, e-commerce and B2B ingredients sectors. He has spent much of his career at Unilever in senior European and global roles, and more recently led the digital transformation of Flora Food Group across Europe.

Airedale hires new chief financial officer

Catering equipment distributor Airedale Group has appointed Joanna Allen as group chief financial officer and a member of the group board and executive team. She joins with more than 20 years’ senior finance leadership experience. Her career began PwC where she led complex transaction projects for organisations with turnover ranging from £1m to £250m. Most recently, Allen served as chief financial officer of DEA Aviation, where she played a central role in supporting the company’s expansion.

Tim Major to lead Operto

Operto has appointed Tim Major as chief executive. He will be tasked with leading the automated hospitality operations and guest experience platform’s next chapter, focusing on short-term rentals and hotels and the development of agentic AI for independent hotels. Major brings more than 15 years’ experience and previously served as president of property management systems at Fullsteam, where he led a portfolio of five brands: IQware, Megasys, Resort Data Processing, RoomKeyPMS and Maestro.

555 Amanda boosts UK presence

Gavin McLean is to lead a newly established UK entity for Denmark-based seafood supplier 555 Amanda as UK general manager. McLean has supported 555 Amanda as a sales consultant over the past two years and this move will see him taking on a bigger role within the company. McLean is a specialist in commercial strategy and growth planning and will be tasked with accelerating 555 Amanda’s expansion across fish and chip shops, food manufacturers, wholesalers and foodservice channels.

Duetto names new chief product officer

Hospitality revenue software provider Duetto has appointed Kartik Yellepeddi as chief product officer. He will guide Duetto’s product strategy as the company evolves its platform into a revenue and profit operating system. Yellepeddi has a track record of modernising commercial travel solutions with AI-driven and cloud-native technology in previous roles, including executive vice-president of product at Flyr and co-founder and chief product officer at Deepair Solutions. Yellepeddi also has additional experience at Cirravia and Sabre Airline Solutions.

Zodiac hires sales duo

Zodiac Stainless, the UK supplier of the Sunnex light equipment brand, has expanded its sales team with the appointments of Zack Little and Mike Ellis. Little will cover the south-east and London area and brings commercial catering equipment experience, having previously worked as an account manager at Nisbets. Ellis will focus on the south-west and Wales regions after gaining more than 10 years’ experience at Alliance as a business development manager.

Flipdish recruits chief financial officer

Flipdish, a provider of AI technology for hospitality, has appointed Brian O’Driscoll as chief financial officer. O’Driscoll is a seasoned technology-sector chief financial officer and chartered director with more than 20 years’ experience. Prior to joining Flipdish, he served as chief financial officer of TitanHQ and as senior finance leader for Qualtrics in Europe, overseeing the organisation’s EMEA expansion from 75 to 750 employees.

Cake stand firm makes swap at the top

Cake stand manufacturer Prop Options has announced that Daniel Bradley (right) will take on the role of chief executive as founders Bradley Young and Emily Lamb move to advisory roles. Bradley joined Prop Options in 2020 to co-ordinate operations and customer services and has been a key part of the company’s growth and international expansion. He was promoted to executive business manager in 2024. His background spans ecommerce, consumer behaviour and the cake industry, having begun his career as a freelance website builder while studying for a master’s degree. He also completed a PhD in psychology, human-computer interaction and individual differences in 2018.

Ex-Brewdog brewer joins Inverness beer-maker

Charlotte Cook has been appointed head brewer at Uile-bheist Brewery in Inverness. Cook, who started her career at Brewdog, has taken over from Lukas Pretzer, who has returned to Germany to work for Kaspar Schulz. She will focus on producing the brewery’s core range before developing seasonal beers and collaborations. The Masters Brewing graduate from Nottingham University has spent the recent part of her career in London, brewing with Trumans and Coalition, one of the biggest independents in the city.

Mackie’s of Scotland recruits sales duo

Ice-cream producer Mackie’s of Scotland has strengthened its team with two recruits as the brand enters its next phase of expansion. David Wishart joins as senior national account manager, bringing more than 12 years of fast-moving consumer goods experience with Scottish and UK food businesses in senior roles working closely with Mackie’s. Leah Rudd also joins the team in the newly created convenience account manager role. She brings commercial insight from working with retailers Farmfoods and Aldi.